Hon. Michael Rugh and Catharine Smith

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Husband Hon. Michael Rugh ^{1 2}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 1820 1
         Buried: 

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         Father: Michael Rugh (      -      ) 2 3 4
         Mother: Anna Frances Markle (      -      ) 4

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       Marriage: 

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   Other Spouse: Mary Hankins (      -1809) 4

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Wife Catharine Smith ⁵

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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Children

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1 F Catharine Rugh ⁵

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           Born: 
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         Buried: 

         Spouse: William Meanor (1808-1872) 6

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General Notes: Husband - Hon. Michael Rugh

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He was stolen by the Indians and was held in bondage for three or four years. He finally escaped and made his way as far as Murrysville, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, but never returned home.
Other sources states that he died in captivity.

He had two sons and a daughter. The latter, with her mother and father, was captured by the Indians. The father escaped and later succeeded in securing the release of his wife and daughter by paying the Indians a ransom. Michael Jr. in after years became a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature.

In 1778, Michael Rugh and family, consisting of a wife, son, and daughter, were captured by the Indians and taken to their camp near the present Oil City, where they spent the winter. They were taken the following spring to Canada, where they were held for three years. Upon their release they were sent to New York City, and from thence they made their way back to their home. When peace was established and the State government formed, Michael Rugh was elected to the House of Representatives. When his term expired he returned to his farm, where he resided until his death. [HWC 1882, 610] Details of this story differ in the various sources.
Some sources indicate this happened to the elder Michael Rugh.

He, his wife, daughter Mary, and an infant son, were captured by Indians near Murrysville, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and all were taken to Canada and kept by different tribes. The father, Michael Rugh, escaped to Quebec, and succeeded in finding his wife by the help of English military officers. Two years later the mother discovered her daughter among some Indians who came to trade. The child's face and arms had been stained to conceal her white nativity. The sum of ten dollars was exacted by the aborigines in each case for the release of their prisoners.

Michael Rugh took an active part in the Indian wars of the frontier, and helped many families into the forts and block-houses during the Indian troubles. He was a presbyterian[?!?!], and served for many years as a justice of the peace. He was one of the five commissioners who laid out Greensburg, and served one term as State senator. He owned three farms, embracing 908 acres in all, and $1,400 in bank after paying for the farms. [BHCWC, 134]

1 George Dallas Albert, History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L. H. Everts & Co., 1882), Pg 610.

2 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. III (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 312.

3 Fenwick Y. Hedley, Old and New Westmoreland, Vols. III & IV (New York, NY: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1918), Pg 563.

4 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913), Pg 677.

5 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: John M. Gresham & Co., 1890.), Pg 134.

6 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: John M. Gresham & Co., 1890.), Pg 133.